Cyprus Health Insurance Agency Reduces Doctor Referrals via New Index

The Organism of Health Insurance (OAU) in Cyprus introduced a performance index that penalises personal doctors who exceed set referral limits, resulting in a marked decline in referrals to specialists. Despite the drop in referrals, visits to specialist doctors continued to rise, driven by population growth and the use of chronic‑patient registries that allow certain patients direct specialist access without a new referral. OAU senior official Petros Neofytou said the agency is revising the index to replace a 5 % earnings penalty with a reward system for doctors who meet the guidelines, and is consulting scientific societies on a new evaluation model.

In parallel, OAU is implementing measures to curb abuses identified in the General Health System (GESY), drawing on recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO). New quality indicators, clinical referral guidelines and quantitative performance metrics have been introduced, and specialised OAU teams are conducting audits. Sanctions have already been imposed on providers for over‑prescription and excessive referrals, while the agency reports gradual improvements in primary‑care indicators such as vaccination coverage and preventive monitoring.